Rainn Wilson
Rainn Dietrich Wilson (/reɪn ˈdiːtrɪk ˈwɪlsən/;"From Shorecrest "loser" to "The Office" poser" born January 20, 1966) is an American actor. He is best known for his Emmy Award-nominated role as egomaniac Dwight Schrute on the American version of the television comedy The Office. Wilson also voiced the alien villain Gallaxhar in Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) and starred in the police procedural Backstrom. Early life and education Wilson was born in Seattle, Washington, the son of Shay Cooper, a yoga teacher and actress, and Robert G. Wilson, a novelist, artist, and business consultant who wrote the science fiction novel Tentacles of Dawn.2 Wilson has English and Norwegian ancestry.3 He attended Central Middle School and Shorecrest High School in Shoreline, Washington, where he played the clarinet and bassoon in the band.4 He transferred to and graduated from New Trier High School after his family moved to Winnetka, Illinois, to serve at the Bahá'í National Center.5 Wilson has a theatre background from Tufts University and the University of Washington, and he has taught acting classes. Wilson holds an MFA from New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts6 and was a member of The Acting Company.7 While acting in theatrical productions in New York City, he drove a moving van to make ends meet.8 Career Wilson played Arthur Martin, the intern at Fisher & Diaz Funeral Home in HBO's Six Feet Under and Dwight Schrute in The Office, and guest-starred in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Entourage,9 Monk, NUMB3RS, Charmed, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job and Reno 911. On February 24, 2007, Wilson hosted Saturday Night Live, becoming the second cast member from The Office to host (after Steve Carell). During the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, Wilson appeared in ads for the 2007 United States women's national soccer team as public relations manager "Jim Mike." In August 2010, Wilson appeared in the music video for Ferraby Lionheart's "Harry and Bess" and Andy Grammer's "Keep Your Head Up" as the "creepy elevator guy", and made the final cut for the role of Gob in Arrested Development, but was replaced by Will Arnett. He also starred in films, including Almost Famous, America's Sweethearts, BAADASSSSS!, Galaxy Quest, House of 1000 Corpses, Sahara, The Last Mimzy, Juno (as the convenience store clerk Rollo), The Rocker and My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Wilson starred in the Fox Atomic comedy The Rocker, released on August 20, 2008.10 His 2009 films include Bonzai Shadowhands, which he co-wrote and co-produced;8 Renaissance Men, which he co-wrote and co-produced;11 the DreamWorks Animation film Monsters vs. Aliens, as the voice of the villainous alien overlord Gallaxhar,12 and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, in which he played a university professor. In 2011, he played the lead role as the unhinged protagonist in Super. Wilson wrote in-character as Dwight Schrute on his NBC blog, "Schrute-Space".13 In June 2008, Wilson confirmed that he no longer writes the blog.14 In the Fox crime-drama Backstrom, Wilson played Evert Backstrom, an offensive, self-destructive detective who is part of a team of eccentric criminologists. The series is based on Leif G. W. Persson's Swedish book series of the same name.15 Wilson also serves as the show's producer. In the same year he starred in a leading role in The Boy, which premiered at SXSW.16 Wilson wrote a humorous memoir about his person life, career and faith called The Bassoon King that was published in November 2015.17 SoulPancake Wilson founded the website and YouTube channel SoulPancake. As of January 24, 2016, the channel has over 1.6 million subscribers, and over 225 million video views. Soul Pancake has been featured on Oprah Winfrey's Satellite Radio Show and Super Soul Sunday.18 Personal life Wilson is married to writer Holiday Reinhorn. They met in an acting class in college and married on the Kalama River in Washington. The couple have a son, Walter Mckenzie, born in 2004, and reside in Agoura Hills, California. They have a home outside of Sisters, Oregon. They have three pit bulls, Oona, Barry, and Pilot,19 and a zonkey named Derek.20 He and his family are members of the Baha'i Faith.212223 A short film inspired by his character in The Office was selected and shown at the 2009 Dawn Breakers International Film Festival in Zurich.24 On Bill Maher's Real Time, Wilson described himself as a diverse independent, voting for Republican, Green Party, and Democratic candidates. Wilson's charitable works include fundraising for the Mona educational organization.25 Filmography Film Written publications The Bassoon King Rainn Wilson. Dutton, ISBN 978-0-525-95453-8 References External links * Rainn Wilson on IMDb Category:1966 births Category:20th-century American actors Category:20th-century Bahá'ís Category:21st-century American actors Category:21st-century Bahá'ís Category:Actors from Seattle, Washington Category:American Bahá'ís Category:American bloggers Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Norwegian descent Category:New Trier High School alumni Category:People from Shoreline, Washington Category:Tisch School of the Arts alumni Category:Tufts University alumni Category:University of Washington alumni